Ready, Aim, Misfire!
by fashionablysteverogers
Summary: Tenten really hated her dreaded 'cupids'. Sure, they were her best friends, but they were terrible match makers. -Complete, with Epilogue!-
1. Matchmakers

Chapter One: _Matchmakers_

**A/N: **_I don't own Naruto, or the song Ready, Aim, Misfire. It's by New Year's Day, but the chorus gave me the idea of this story. Also, I stopped watching/reading Naruto a little after Shipuuden started so if any of my information seems wrong please keep in mind that….__**i don't give a shit. **__But I guess this is post-Shinobi war and everything bad because they have Sasuke back and nothing bad seems to be happening, and they're all their Shipuuden ages. _

**Summary: **Tenten really hated her dreaded 'cupids'. Sure, they were her best friends, but they were _terrible_ match makers.

**Warning: **Rated T for language….just to be safe.

_If I had just one bullet and a trigger, I'd pull it…._

Tenten rubbed her temple, re-adjusting herself on the floor. She was sitting in her pink-haired companion, Sakura's room. She dreaded these little 'hang-out' days that she had with her fellow kunoichi. She wished she was off sparring with her teammate, Neji Hyuuga. The worse part about this break day was that Temari, her other close friend, was visiting from Sunagakure. Situated around the room were her other close female pals, including Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuuga. The ponytailed blonde was yapping away at something unimportant, which led to an interruption from the eldest kunoichi, Temari.

"Ino- shut up." She growled, harshly. Despite brutally injuring Tenten some odd years ago during the Chunin exams, Temari had no resentment for the panda bunned female. Instead, all her hate was directed at Ino, who stood as the most competition for Shikamaru's love. Tenten assumed that, along with the fact that Ino was annoying, was the reason Temari had hate for the fellow blonde. "Tenten," the girl otherwised known as 'panda' noted how soft Temari's voice had become, "how's that relationship of yours going?" Tenten scoffed at the question. She could hardly call whatever that _thing_ she had a few days ago been. Sakura had, yet again, tried to hook her up with a random shinobi. Of course, this attempt failed just as badly as the other ones.

"I don't even remember his name." Tenten admitted. Her statement caused a soft giggle from Hinata, and a smirk from Temari. The sandy blonde shook her head, her bangs following.

"I knew Haruno would prove to be insufficient at finding you a suitor." Temari said, matter-of-factly. Tenten rolled her chocolate eyes, resisting the urge to yell out that they were all terrible matchmakers. "You can't go around throwing weapons all day. You have to settle down eventually. How old are you now, seventeen?" Tenten knew that she didn't have a mother figure—or father figure for that matter, in her life, but that didn't mean her friends had to act like nagging parents. Temari looked around the room, gazing at the four girls, for seconds at a time. "Who's next in finding her a suitor? Sakura has already failed-"

"Multiple times!"

"Shut up, Ino!"

"Both of you shut up." Temari glared daggers at the two girls. Hinata and Tenten exchanged glances, knowing how much the sand kunoichi hated being cut off. "As I was saying, Sakura has already failed, on multiple occasions, to get Tenten a man. Do you all know what that means? It is now Ino's turn to find Tenten a boyfriend. If she succeeds then that will prove that she's a much better friend, and person, than Sakura." Temari grinned. She knew that adding in a bit of rivalry between the two girls would make them work more efficiently. Ino glared at the pink haired girl.

"I will stop at nothing to get Tenten a boyfriend!" She shouted, directing her statement to Sakura. She closed her eyes and thought of all the possible shinobi that were compatible with her dear friend.

_Shikamaru?_ No, he was too boring, and he was basically Temari's property. _Choji?_ He wouldn't be able to keep up with Tenten and her constant bursts of energy. _Sai? _No, he was gross. And she would much rather see him with Sakura. _Sasuke? _Hm…he could actually work, after all, Tenten did think he was cute. The Uchiha would be her last result, and final piece of ammo. _Rock Lee? _Ino shivered at the mere thought of it. FUCK no. _Neji? _Nah, Tenten probably thought of him as a brother…besides…he creeped Ino the fuck out.

Soundly, it hit the blonde like a tidal wave. She was going to hook up her Chinese looking best friend with the only person she saw fit- Kiba Inuzuka. She looked at her panda friend, a mischevious smile creeping across her face.

"In the meantime, Hinata you can start thinking of some guys- or girls, whatever Tenten's into, that will treat our panda headed maiden like a queen. If I fail in hooking her up with one of my brothers, which won't happen, then you will be the last resort." Temari spoke in a soft tone, smiling the whole time. Tenten felt her heart melt at this. _Everyone_ had a soft spot for Hinata. She wondered how it was even possible for Neji to hate his adorable cousin for as long as he did. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Sakura made a bold statement.

"Ino, you're nothing. I'm going to find a boy that will shower Tenten with love and affection. That same boy, ten years from now, will be the father of her nine children. I can picture it now, little girls with two cute buns situated on all of their heads, running around and giving their mother a hard time. Or, quiet sons that practiced in the way of the shinobi." Sakura clapped her hands together, looking up at the ceiling. The other girls tried to follow her gaze, the one that led her to this imaginary future. Temari smacked her forehead with her hand.

"I'm wondering how it's possible for you to be so stupid." Temari shook her head, sadly. "Ino, I can understand. But, damn Sakura, I'd expect for you to act more lady-like sometimes." Hinata giggled at Temari's insulting of her two friends.

"Well guys, I gotta go put my plan into action. See you all later!" Ino jumped up suddenly, running out of the room and house. Tenten took a deep breath. Why was she friends with such _imbeciles?_

**Lordy, these girls sure are crazy! Gah, I so badly wanted to add Tayuya in. Her, Temari, and Tenten have a secret sisterhood. Well, at least in my mind! Too bad she died almost as soon as she was introduced…fuck I loved her so much! Neji will appear more in the next chapter and I'm gonna try to refrain from using OCs.**


	2. Ino's First Attempt

**Chapter Two: **_Ino's first Attempt_

**A/N: **_If I owned Naruto, NejiTen woulda been canon sense the first EPISODE. Nah, not really. But they would become canon and have fluffy, NejiTen-centered episodes that would result in Tenten getting more screen time and becoming one of the main characters….god yes. **I changed her outfit, too. You'll see what I mean!**_

* * *

_Shoot my cupid, out of the sky…_

Tenten woke up bright and early the next day. Unfortunately for her, Temari was still going to be wrecking hakov in Konoha for _as long as she wanted._ Knowing Temari, she probably wouldn't ever leave. Normally, Tenten wouldn't mind this, but because the older kunoichi decided to use Tenten's house as a hotel, Tenten couldn't help but be a little upset. She loved her friend, especially since it got lonely at her house, but Temari's temper was almost too much for her to handle—and she could handle a lot because she dealt with Rock Lee, Mighto Gai, and Neji Hyuuga on a daily basis. Tenten quickly got dressed in her red and white mini-dress. She put on her matching red shorts and slid on her sandal-boots. She tiptoed out the house without waking her temporary housemate.

Tenten made it to her team's training ground as quickly as possible. As she neared the spot, her teammate's mediating silhouette began to form into a more recognizable figure. Tenten made no attempt to sneak up on the boy, because she knew that would be futile. "Ni hao, Neji." Tenten tried her best to keep up with her usual enthusiasm. It was hard to be enthusiastic when imagining what Ino had in store for her. Neji didn't respond immediately, but smirked at Tenten's confusion of Asian languages. He opened his pale eyes and stood up.

"Let's begin," He got straight down to business. He stared at Tenten for approval. Chivalry wasn't completely dead, after all. He wanted to make sure that is comrade was ready before beginning their sparring session. Tenten let out a deep sigh. "What?" He narrowed his eyes, seizing up his teammate. Tenten began chuckling and raised her arms to her chest.

"Calm down!" She dropped her arms back to her sides. "I just wanted…I wanted to do some hand to hand combat. No fuinjutsu, no byakugan…just punches and kicks." Tenten stared at him, hopefully. Neji nodded,

"All you had to do was ask then." He got into a fighting stance. He barely had time to ready himself, when Tenten practically threw herself at him, punches flying everywhere. Neji blocked each and every one, barely. He glared at the girl. He was used to sparring with her, but something about her attacks was different than usual. It was physically impossible for her to have improved _that_ much with just one day off. Sure, Tenten was a good shinobi but, no one was that good. Neji didn't have much time for his thoughts, because Tenten striked at him with another angry attack. He jumped out of the way, causing her to punch the ground with such force that rivaled even Sakura Haruno herself. Neji masked his surprise, but his insides bubbled at the damage that Tenten had just caused. Neji couldn't bring himself to actually strike his teammate, even if she was a fellow shinobi. He knew Tenten was trained for things like that but…this wasn't his usual Tenten. Whoever this Tenten was, she had an unmasked fury that was flowing through her blood. Neji had no idea what was wrong with his partner, but he had no intention of getting killed today.

"Excuse me, Tenten, but…_what the hell_?" He stopped abruptly, dropping his hands at his sides. Tenten looked at him with a confused expression. Neji pointed to the cracked gravel, his expression still blank. "If you landed that hit on me….I quite possibly could have died." Tenten sat up straight and started to laugh.

"I doubt it would have killed you. Has the Hyuuga prodigy gone so soft that he can't even beat a sweet innocent young woman?" Tenten laughed nervously. Said Hyuuga prodigy narrowed his eyes. He began to walk in circles around Tenten, seizing her up and down.

"You're not fooling anyone." He stated, simply. "Tell me what's got you angry enough to try and kill me- the most important person in your life." Tenten grunted at his arrogance, but did not deny the statement.

"Ino." At the mention of the name that Neji heard way too often from Tenten's complaints, he knew what was wrong. This wasn't the first time that Tenten tried to release her anger from Ino out on him.

"What'd she do this time?" Neji sat down, in a Buddhist-like position. Tenten sat down next to him, raising her legs to her chest.

"Remember how I told you that Sakura tried to hook me up with that boy?" Neji nodded, smirking as he recalled how annoyed Tenten had been all of last week because of her pink-haired friend. "Well now, Temari, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura are all going to take turns hooking me up with random guys!" Tenten whined, hitting the ground beside her. "And Ino's up first…something bad is bound to happen!"

"Hn," was the only response that the white-eyed male gave. He made sure to keep his tone as blank as possible, so that Tenten couldn't sense the discomfort he felt at the idea of her friends trying to find her a boyfriend. It wasn't really Ino, Temari, and Sakura that bothered him because he knew they were oblivious to Neji or anything about him but, how could his very own _cousin _ be a part of their foolish plans?

* * *

Tenten was walking home after eating out with her team, a ritual that often followed training sessions. She had to practically force Neji to not take her home. She walked in a peaceful silence. This peace was interrupted when she heard the sound of a bark.

"Hey, Tenten-chan!" That rather familiar and obnoxious voice shouted. Tenten turned to where the sound came from and saw none other than Kiba Inuzuka approaching her. She cursed under her breath. Tenten had nothing against the dog-man, but she just wanted to get home. Tenten smiled at the boy.

"Hey there, Kiba…" Tenten responded slowly, hoping he would take the hint and leave her alone. Unfortunately he didn't. Instead, he walked closer to her—too close for her comfort. "Um, Kiba-san, can you step back a bit?" Tenten asked nervously. Kiba winked at her, a grin forming on his face. Tenten contemplated in what ways she was going to kill the boy.

"I heard from the grapevine…" He began, speaking very slowly. Tenten clenched her fist, ready to attack the nuisance. "…that you had a little crush on me." Tenten's muscles immediately softened, and she smiled at the boy. There was no sense in wasting her energy on him because she knew that this was Ino's doing.

"Where'd you hear that from?" She blinked at him.

"Ino!" Her suspicions were confirmed. That bitch was going to get it. Tenten's homicidal thoughts were interrupted by a startling statement from Kiba. "You should go on a date with me!" Tenten took a deep breath, not wanting to hurt the boys feelings.

"Um…sure."

Little did the sweet little bun-haired cutie know, her partner in crime wasn't too far away, and heard just enough that caused anger to shoot through him. He punched a nearby tree, causing a dent in the work of Mother Nature. Quite frankly, Neji Hyuuga couldn't really give a shit.

* * *

The next afternoon, Tenten found herself wanting to smash her head against the wall as she sat in the famed Ramen Shop with her date. She had no idea what her supposed best friend was thinking- her and Kiba weren't a like _at all_. For the past hour that she sat with the boy, she was barely able to get a word in. Kiba had spent most of their precious date time barking on and on about his beloved sidekick and pet. Tenten covered her face with her hands, using all of her will power to keep from letting out a loud scream.

"Look, Kiba, I gotta go." Tenten stood up abruptly. "This was really fun…but um, you're a great friend. That is _all_ you'll ever be." Kiba shrugged,

"Chill out, buns. I was only in it because Ino said she was paying me!" Tenten clenched her fist. Ino was going to die. She practically sold Tenten—like some common whore! Tenten rushed home, her anger rattling the ground she walked on with each stomp. She took out her key and opened the door, slamming it closed behind her. She was greeted by the concerned looks of Temari and Shikamaru.

"You can cross Ino off that little list, Temari." Tenten growled. She then directed her attention to the pineapple headed boy. "And Nara, I suggest you go ask lord Hokage for a replacement on your team because there ain't gonna be no more _Ino_ in the Ino-Shika-Cho formation once I get my hands on her."

* * *

**Ah, bliss. Little NejiTen friendship moment, and really pissed off Tenten. You'll be seeing that a lot in this story….Neji's...I mean, my poor bun haired cutie. **

**Animefangirl95: _Thanks so much! Yup, Sakura is actually that crazy! And oh dear sweet Ino, she's equally as crazy, and a little more obnoxious!_  
**


	3. Temari's Attempt

**Chapter Three: **Temari's Attempt

**A/N: **_If I owned Naruto, it would be called 'Tenten'…if you get what I'm hinting at._

_Some deceased characters that are vital to this story are going to be in it…unfortunately still no Tayuya though._

* * *

Tenten was sitting in Sakura's room for the second time that week. That was already too many times for her. She didn't mask her annoyance, sighing every few minutes. She wanted her friends to _feel_ how bothered she was by their stupid plans.

"Now, now, don't fret." Temari waved her hand, dismissively. "We're doing this so that you can find love in this hopeless place called Konoha." She beamed. Tenten glared daggers at the girl, and was tempted to _throw _some at her. If there was ever a time where she wanted to strangle the sandy blonde, it was right now. She counted backwards to one and tried her best to keep from tackling the older girl.

"I don't want to 'find love in this hopeless place'." Tenten growled. Temari, Sakura, and Ino exchanged glances and laughed, simultaneously. Tenten rubbed her eyes, mentally smacking herself. She suddenly remembered her vow to herself at age five. It had something to do with never befriending females. She cursed herself silently for not keeping her promise to her younger self. Perhaps if she had, she could have avoided this entire situation.

"Of course you do." Ino placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And we're going to help you find it." Tenten smacked the blonde's hand off of her and gave her a look that said, '_Touch-me-and-you-die'. _Ino laughed nervously and scooted closer to Temari.

"Ah, but Tenten, your troubles are soon going to be over!" Temari clapped her hands together. Not even bothering to think about her middle brother, she got straight down to business. "Forget Kankuro, you're going to marry my youngest and most competent sibling, Gaara!" Temari grinned. Tenten slapped herself in the forehead. There was _no _way this was going to turn out well.

* * *

Tenten mentally cursed herself multiple times as she stood outside of Tsunade's office, trying to listen in on her Hokage's conversation with the representative of communications for Sunagakure and Konohagakure.

"You see, Tsunade-sama, since Tenten and her team don't seem to be doing anything else of importance, I would like to borrow Tenten for a few days…" Their voices got muffled for a few minutes. "I should have her back to you in less than a week's time!" Tenten pressed her ear closer to the locked door.

"Hm, I trust that you'll bring one of my favorite kuniochi back alive. I'll alert Team Gai right away!"

"That won't be necessary, Tsunade-sama. I solely need Tenten for this mission." Tenten silently prayed that her Hokage would deny Temari's request. She cursed her bad luck when she heard Tsunade reluctantly agree. Tenten banged her head against the wall, just as Temari exited the room.

"Looks like you're coming with me to Suna!" Temari skipped down the hallway, probably going looking for Shikamaru. Tenten let out a deep breath and walked out of the building.

She followed her legs as they took her to a place that was all too familiar to her, her team's training grounds. She found herself there too often lately, probably to escape the wrath of her so called friends. When she got there, she only saw Neji, which led her to believe that Lee and Gai were on one of their 500 lap exercises. She approached the prodigy and sat down by his side, careful not to disturb his meditating. She closed her eyes and mimicked his position. Neji's eyes shot open and he glared at Tenten. He stood up and stared to walk off.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tenten stood up and followed behind him. He turned around to face her.

"Shouldn't you be with Kiba or something?" He questioned harshly. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him.

"No." She responded. She crossed her arms and began walking in the other direction. "But I should probably let you know that I'm going to Suna for a while." Neji felt his muscles tense up. He turned back to his longtime best friend.

"Why are you going there?" He questioned, not even trying to mask his curiosity. Tenten shrugged innocently.

"I dunno, go ask Temari." She walked off, leaving the Hyuuga alone.

* * *

Tenten was standing at the Gate of Konoha with Temari by her side. For whatever reason, the sand sibling had decided to drag her stupid "boyfriend" along with them. Naturally, he was late. Part of Tenten was still tempted to run off and abandon Temari altogether, but Temari was smarter than that. Now, thanks to her Hokage, it was Tenten's shinobi duty to travel with Temari and Shikamaru to her doom. She looked up at the sky and silently begged for kami to take her life away.

"Hey." Shikamaru walked over, slow as ever. Temari beamed at the pineapple head and clung to his arm.

"Aye, Shika's here. Now we can go!" Tenten let out a loud groan. Part of her was hoping that Shikamaru had died, so that maybe Temari would have cancelled the mission. But once again, Tenten's bad luck seemed to ruin all her hopes and dreams. And, knowing Temari, she probably would have gone along with it, even if Shikamaru had died. The walked out of Konoha, and Tenten said goodbye to any bits of sanity she had left. For the first few hours, they walked in awkward silence. Shikamaru was far too bored to spark up a conversation, and every time Temari tried, she would receive a menacing glare from Tenten. Shikamaru rolled his eyes each time this happened. He wondered how Tenten could remain friends with such a troublesome woman…which led him to his next question of why he was so in love with that very same girl.

After the first night of travel, things got relatively easier for the trio. Tenten was back on speaking terms with Temari, and Shikamaru still tried his best to ignore it all. "You know, you should just give in." Shikamaru whispered on the second night, when Temari was fast asleep. "With Temari, I learnt that your life is way easier if you just give in to her stupid, selfish demands." Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head. Tenten rolled over on her side so that she was fully facing him.

"Unlike you, I know how to deal with 'troublesome woman'. I have to deal with this, along with Ino and Sakura on a daily basis." Tenten had him beat. Sure, he had to deal with Ino and Temari too but with the added burden of Sakura, he silently prayed for Tenten's wellbeing. "On top of that, I have to deal with crazy Lee and Miss Sassy Pants Hyuuga."

"Hinata?" Shikamaru looked at her quizzically. Though Shikamaru couldn't see her in the dark, she rolled her eyes.

"No. Neji." She practically growled the name. Shikamaru shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Whatever. Go to sleep, we should be there in the morning." Tenten looked at the boy once more, who was sitting up straight with his arms crossed and eyes closed. She shifted her gaze to Temari, who laid with her head in his lap and her knees close to her body. Tenten shivered at the cold air around her, smiling at the sight of the two.

* * *

Tenten sat awkwardly between Kankuro and Shikamaru. On the other side of the table sat Temari and Gaara, who were calmly chatting about something that Tenten's side of the table couldn't hear. Kankuro excused himself to the "bathroom"—or in other words, he left the restaurant completely. Shikamaru sighed and wished he had thought of that. Tenten rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly. Gaara hadn't said a word to anyone except his sister since the beginning of the dinner.

"Did I seriously travel all the way from Konoha for this?" Shikamaru crossed his arms, glaring at his significant other. "Troublesome." He mumbled under his breath. Tenten laughed as his expression changed, a result of Temari kicking him under the table.

"Sooo." Tenten whistled, smiling. Shikamaru moved his bowl of soup out of the way and placed his head down on the wood in front of him. Temari grinned, nodding for Tenten to continue. "What's it like being…um…Kazekage?" Tenten looked at Gaara with her best, fakest smile. She had Sai to thank for that one. Gaara shrugged and said something that was barely audible to the girl. She scrunched up her nose and wondered when Gaara had gotten as soft spoken as Hinata? She nodded, pretending that she understood him. "Right…" She laughed, nervously. In her mind, she was thinking up creative was to kill, not just Ino but Temari as well.

* * *

**A/N: **_Damn…these girls really suck at match-making. Had to add one of my favorites, Shikamaru in here. Since Temari's living with Tenten, Shikamaru's gonna be spending more time with Miss Bunz, and getting more involved in the__story. Horrah for Shikamaru!_

**Animefangirl95:**_** Ironically enough, Neji is going to be one of the main sources of humor in this story. And trust me...the dates get worse! Thanks for reading a reviewing, I didn't expect anyone to read this! Ah! Thanks so much!**  
_


	4. Sakura's Attempt

**Chapter Four: **Sakura's Attempt

**A/N: I just don't own Naruto okay. Also, I forgot to add the little beginning lyrics in Temari's part. Oh well.**

* * *

_Break off his wings and gouge out his eyes…_

Sakura Haruno rubbed her hands together, smirking. She had been planning this for days. She knew, with the help of Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai, that her plans would not fail as badly as Temari or Ino's had. She knocked on the door of her teammates home and balanced on her heels as she waited for an answer. Soon enough, she was greeted by the fake smile of the extremely sarcastic, almost ghostly boy that she grew to love so dearly. Sai was a strange one, but she liked it. She grabbed his hand, gently, afraid that if she pulled him too hard his paper-white skin would dissolve into flakes. She shivered, the love she had for all of her teammates would one day be her greatest downfall.

"Sai, I need your help." She got right to business as she poured hot water into a tea kettle. Sai nodded, motioning for her to continue. She explained to him the plan she and her circle had for Tenten.

"Where do I come in?" Sai wondered, cocking his head to the side. His face still wore that almost annoying, fake smile. "Do I have to pretend to be Panda-neechan's boyfriend? If so, I have to decline. That'd practically be inc-"

"NO, Sai!" Sakura cut him off before he stared to ramble. The love-hate relationship she had with this boy scared the shit out of her. Some days, she wanted to plant the pale-skinned boy with a million kisses. Other times, she wanted to beat him until he had no blood left to beat outta him. "I need you to help me get Tenten and Sasuke to go out." Sai's expression immediately changed.

"What are you, deranged? How do you expect me to do that?" Sai opened his eyes, something that was rare for him to do. Usually, he was smiling so hard that he couldn't see a thing. "Tenten is a nice, panda bear and Sasuke is a rude douche. Incompatible." Sai crossed his arms, matter-of-factly. Sakura counted to 30 in her head, using all her inner strength to not punch him the face. She had done that before when they first met, and she feared she would be repeating the action quite soon.

"Damn it, Sai, can you just cooperate for once in your life?" She glared at the boy. She sat down in the seat across from his. She rubbed her forehead, in an attempt to think of a plan. She looked around the room and saw all the drawings and paintings, done by Sai himself. "Aye, Sai…how well do you think you can draw Sasuke?"

"Quite well, why?"

"Well, maybe if you drew him and did your little thing, we could bring a drawing of him to life!" Sakura grinned as the idea began to work itself in her brain. "And we could do the same for Tenten, and manipulate the inked clones! That way they'll fall in love, then get married and have nine children."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and that would never work." Sai stated firmly. Gosh, these people were stupid. Wasn't it obvious that Tenten was in love with Neji? Obviously not, though. Even the smartest of people, like Shikamaru, Sakura, and even Neji himself, couldn't figure that out. Sai was tempted to laugh at how stupid and oblivious they all were. And he thought he was bad at expressing emotions. Neji didn't seem too good at it, either. "I guess I'll go along with it." Sai thought about what had happened the last time he had angered Sakura. Soon after that, he could see why Shikamaru thought girls were so troublesome. Sai smiled, a genuine smile, because he too had a plan of his own. He and Sakura talked for a bit more, but most of his attention was towards his plan.

* * *

Later that day, Sakura found herself on the floor next to Temari, while Ino and Hinata sat on her bed. The girls decided not to invite Tenten to this next little meeting they were having.

"Guys, I know the plan was for Hinata to try once Temari failed but, I have someone in mind that might take interest in Tennybear." Sakura spoke quickly. Temari exchanged glances with the other girls before nodding.

"Alright, fine. We'll let you have your go Sakura. But if you fail, then it will be up to Hinata." Temari motioned her hands in Hinata's direction. "Don't let me down Haruno."

"I won't." Sakura responded in a low tone. For some odd reason, she still had some fear of Temari that was left over from when she kicked Tenten's ass during the Chunin exams. Sakura was careful not to test the nineteen year old Sunan girl, because her temper rivaled Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's put together.

"W-who do you have in m-mind?" Hinata asked in a small voice. All three girls turned to her at once. Temari jumped up, wrapping her arms around the younger Hyuuga.

"D'ah, Hinata, you're so cute!" She squeezed the life out of the white-eyed beauty. "Forget Shikamaru, I'm gonna marry you!" This caused the young girl to turn a bright shade of red. Ino and Sakura shook their heads, laughing at how Temari quickly dropped her tough shell for Hinata.

"Well, answer the question, forehead." Ino looked at the pinkhaired girl. Sakura was ready to rip Ino's dumb hair out, with the mention of her old nickname.

"Sasuke." Sakura shrugged, trying to mask her anger. Temari and Hinata both shot her a look.

"Sasuke as in…Sasuke-Sharingan-I-used-to-hate-but-now-I-love-my-brother-missing-nin-joined-the-Akatsuki-but-now-I'm-back-on-the-good-side Uchiha?" Temari questioned. Sakura nodded, holding back her laughter.

"That's the one. Don't you guys worry your pretty little minds," Sakura had to stop herself from following that with '_people through rocks at things that shine'*, _"I have this all under control." Sakura smirked, thinking of her plans with Sai.

"Ah, Hinata, do you have a boy in mind, for when Sakura brutally fails?" Temari asked the indigo haired Hyuuga, her arms still around her. Hinata shook her head.

"N-nope, no one I can t-think of off the top of my h-head."

"That's alright, Hinata." Sakura fist pumped the air. "I can assure you that this plan won't fail!"

"You have too much hope in little Sasu." Temari shook her head. "Tenten may be a bomb ass babe who has a great personality, but can we all remember that Sasuke has no heart?" Sakura rolled her eyes at the dirty blonde's statement.

* * *

"Aye, Sasuke, Naruto." Sai waved at his companions. Naruto gave him a big grin. He had more compassion for the boy from when they first met, after learning the hardships Sai faced involving his brother and stuff. Sasuke, however, had no care for his replacement, or anyone else for that matter.

"Sasuke…have you ever had interest in one of the females in Konoha 12?" Sai didn't beat around the bush. He was never one to do that. Unlike most people, Sai had no problem asking uncomfortably straightforward questions, and he expected equally straightforward answers. Sasuke was taken aback by the statement, and glared at his comrade.

"Why do you ask?" He knew Sai had a reason for the strange question, and he was not just going to open up to this freak of a replacement.

"Well, Naruto has Hinata. I, I hope I have Sakura. And you have…" Sai waited for Sasuke to fill in the blank. When he didn't answer, Sai continued. "…No one."

"Hai, he's right Sasuke!" Naruto had chosen just the right time to input himself in their conversation. "Girls love you, but you've never taken interest in any of them! What's the big idea!"

"Maybe he's gay**." Sai stated, earning him a death glare from Sasuke. He responded with his notorious, extremely disturbing, fake smile.

"No, I am not gay." Sasuke took a deep breath. "I just feel like my life as a shinobi is more important than chasing around girls."

"I didn't chase Hinata!"

"And when I first met Sakura, we hated each other." Sasuke rolled his eyes. He felt the sudden urge to go ask Tsunade for a squad change. Maybe he could join team Gai….over his dead body. That Lee guy made him want to jump into a lake, and there was no way he'd ever want to be on a team with that prissy byakugan guy.

"Anyway, point is, you should consider dating one of our female friends." Sai continued, much to Sasuke's displeasure. "Hinata, Sakura, and Temari are basically restricted property. Then there's Ino-"

"Fuck no."

"And Tenten." Sasuke thought about his options. He could always try to steal Sakura away, that wouldn't prove to be too hard. But, Sai wasn't much of a challenge. He preferred to compete with some who could put up a fight and, that Hyuuga kid looked like he could. Sasuke smirked, thinking how nicely this plan would go. It wouldn't be too hard to manipulate that girl who looked like the Street Fighter character.***

* * *

**A/N: ** _This chapter is really SakuSai related…well, not really. But even so, don't fret. They're not too important to the story and I don't think Sai will be mentioned much in grave detail after this chapter. The next chapter will be QUITE interesting. Sasuke, what what WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING? _

_*It's a line from Ours by Taylor Swift...I think. (Which I also don't own. DON'T SUE ME T-SWIZZLE!)_

_**This is not meant to be a homophobic statement by any means. Especially considering I'm a lesbian.  
_

_***Is it just me or does Tenten remind you of Chun-Li? They could be sisters or something! (I don't own Street Fighter either so no sue-y!)  
_

**_Animefangirl95: Tenten's too funny in this story. I almost feel bad for Miss Buns! Shikamaru probably knows, but he's going along with Temari's plan. Gotta keep his lady pleased! And yes, Miss Sassy Pants Hyuuga is VERY pouty. Thanks for the review!_**

**_hinataloover566: Thank you so much! Yup, I wrote and posted them all last night. And, just because you're my second reviewer and by your username I can tell you like Hinata, I'm gonna add her in more in the next few chapters! Eep! Thank you!  
_**


	5. Sakura's Plan Takes Action!

**Chapter Five: **Sakura's Plan Takes Action!

**A/N: **_I don't own Naruto…yup. Chapter Five already? I could cry. This thing is progressing so fast I barely know what to do with it!_

* * *

_Thank him for nothing, cus that's all that he gave to me._

Tenten was sitting in the dirt at her Team's training area. She was surprised to find that not even Neji was there yet. She shrugged it off and continued to carve lines into the dirt with her kunai. She let out a long, heavy sigh. Lately, her life was too crazy for her and she was almost relieved to have this time alone. _Or so she thought._

"Hey…Tenten, right?" She turned around at the barely familiar voice. She tightened her hold on her kunai. Though the Uchiha boy had claimed to be on the good side again, Tenten couldn't help but feel strangely around him. She had never met anyone as indecisive as him, and boy, she couldn't stand indecisive people. If he was anyone else, she probably would have thought of him as pathetic. But because he was independent, that made it a little better. Part of the reason she couldn't stand her friends's plan for her is that it made it seem like she _needed _a male in her life. Tenten didn't depend on anyone, and she planned to keep it that way.

"Hey, Uchiha-san." She gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement before turning back to her previous activity, which she suddenly seemed so interested in. Even though he was indecisive and a traitor, Tenten couldn't help but notice how attractive he was, and how much more attractive he got over the years.

"Such formalities are unnecessary." Sasuke sat down beside her. She shot a quick glance at his blank facial expression. In a way, he reminded her of her Hyuuga companion, who was probably off being a prissy baby somewhere.

"Um, alright. What would you prefer I call you?" Tenten looked him in his dark eyes.

"Sasuke." Sasuke returned her stare. "Or you could think of a dumb nickname that I'll pretend to hate but secretly be in love with…" Tenten narrowed her eyes and turned away. Was the Uchiha boy actually _flirting_ with her? She shook that thought from her mind and looked up at the sky. "What are you doing here, all alone?"

"I'm not alone, there's someone right next to me." Tenten stated bluntly. Sasuke chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "What?"

"You've been hanging with the Hyuuga too much; you're starting to pick up on his bad sarcasm." Sasuke pointed out. He stood up, and held a hand out to her. "Let's go." Tenten took his hand and stood up.

"Go where?" Tenten stared up at the boy. Sasuke answered with a shrug and dragged her along with him. She followed him without protest, her legs defying her mind. Soon enough, they were in front of the Ramen Shop.

"Aye, Tenten! Sasuke!" The familiar, loud, voice of Naruto rang in her ears. Sai stood next to the blonde haired shinobi, and gave Tenten a smile.

"Are you two on a date?" Sai questioned. Tenten opened her mouth to answer, but Sasuke beat her to it.

"You betcha." Tenten looked at him, a blank expression plastered on his calm face. Sai smirked at her reaction.

"Is it a real date, or have you threatened her into being your sex slave?" The smile remained on his face. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If I was doing the latter, do you honestly think I would come to the ramen shop, instead of someplace else…like my home?" Sasuke glared at the ghostly boy, causing Tenten to laugh a little. The four of them talked for a while, until they felt a cold, dark aura approaching. They turned around to see the King of Sass himself, Neji Hyuuga. Tenten snorted and turned back the other way. Neji sat down in the available seat on the other side of Sasuke. He crossed his arms and ordered his ramen without a word to his friends.

"Hey, Neji!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke gave the other stoic male a nod of acknowledgement. Tenten continued to shovel noodles into her mouth, as if Neji didn't exist.

"Sup." Neji directed this to all of them. Though it was rhetorical, Sai found a way to grind Neji's gears by answering anyway.

"The only thing up is my blood pressure and heart rate." He responded, with a smile. Neji, who didn't really care, asked why anyway. "Because Mr I-Don't-Care-About-Anyone-Except-Myself is on a date!" Sai patted Sasuke's shoulder, earning him the signature Uchiha glare.

"With who? Naruto?" Neji raised an eyebrow. Naruto growled, shaking his fist.

"No, asshole, with Tenten-chan!" Naruto shouted. Neji narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha, who seemed unfazed by the entire conversation.

"Is that so?" Neji kept his eyes on Sasuke.

"Yeah, it's so," Sasuke stated. Before he was even finished with his food, he stood up and placed a wad of cash on the table. "That should be enough for both bowls of ramen. Let's go Tenten." He grabbed the bunned girl again.

"Where to next?" She asked curiously. Sasuke smirked evilly, staring directly at Neji.

"I was thinking my place. Bye, guys." Naruto, Sai, and Neji were left to watch their figures disappear, until they were no longer insight.

"Maybe Sakura was right about the married with nine children thing…" Sai mumbled, in a low voice. However, this didn't go unnoticed by Neji.

"Tenten won't be having nine babies with anyone." Neji grumbled. "When I get my hands on that emo brat, he won't be able to make babies." Naruto's eyes widened at Neji's sudden display of emotion.

"What's got you so overprotective, you sparkling white-eyed snow dragon?" Sai questioned. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows at Sai's slightly disturbing nickname for the Hyuuga.

"I'm not being overprotective. But of all the people she could be on a date with, Sasuke? Are you kidding me? The guy has no heart whatsoever. He's obviously using her." Neji crossed his arms, recomposing himself. Sai's grin widened.

"Oh, right, of course."

* * *

"I was pulling your leg. We aren't going to my house." Sasuke stated, once they were far enough away. "Not yet, at least." Tenten ignored that, and continued to follow him.

"So where are we going then?" She looked at the younger boy. Sasuke stopped walking, and turned to her, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"I had to lie because…Sai and Naruto, they…they both share an undying love for you." Tenten shook her head.

"Sasuke, that's completely idiotic! Are you even hearing yourself?" She looked at her, with a confused expression on her face. "Naruto is totally in love with Hinata…and I think Sai likes Sakura."

"It's all just a façade," Sasuke shook his head, "but I know better than that. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of the shinobi ranging from ages 12 to 20 are in love with you." Sasuke made himself sound sure of this. He wasn't going to lie, that was probably true. "The thing is though, I don't think any of them are compatible with you."

Tenten narrowed her eyes. She didn't know where Sasuke was going with this, but how exactly was he telling her who she was compatible with? She barely knew the guy! Before she was able to launch in a full-on verbal assault, Sasuke said something that completely startled the poor girl.

"Wait…what?" Tenten widened her eyes. "I didn't quite catch that." She coughed, regaining her composure.

"I said that the only shinobi in this entire village that had the ability to care for such a delicate and beautiful flower like you, would be me." Sasuke's expression didn't show what his words said. He didn't have a hint of sincerity, bashfulness, or anything for that matter. But still, Tenten couldn't help but be a bit hypnotized by the younger Uchiha brother.

She wondered if it was because of his kekkai genkai.

_Probably._

She wasn't even sure with the Sharingan did, but she was pretty sure it was the reason for the shade of red that washed over her face.

* * *

"You can stop your stupid plans now." Tenten barged into Sakura's room. The four girls that she knew would be in there all looked up at her. "I…have a…boyfriend." Temari narrowed her eyes.

"Is he real?" She stood up, circling around the chocolate-eyed girl.

"I-is it Neji-oniisama?" Hinata also stood up, hopefully.

"Is it Kiba!" Ino jumped.

"Yes, _definitely not_, and no." Tenten sat down on Sakura's bed and closed her eyes. "It's Sasuke."

"YES!" Sakura pounded her fist in the air upon hearing the name. "I win, I win, I'm better than Ino!" She stopped suddenly, when she realized that she didn't even start her plan with Sai. "Wait, what?"

"No fair! Sasuke was going to be my last resort! You stole him from me!" Ino stomped her foot on the ground.

"This isn't the first time she did…" Temari mumbled under her breath. "Anyway, how'd it happen?"

"Well, he dragged me to the Ramen Shop and, without my consent, started telling people we were on a date. Then Neji came, they glared at each other, and he pulled me away. He told me that bunches of shinobi were in love with me but he was the only one who would be able to take care of me. Then he asked if he could have the chance to prove if that was true." Tenten huffed in one breath. "I didn't even _want _to say yes, but for some reason I simply _couldn't_ say no. It was obviously because of that sharingaga thingy." Temari smirked, nodding.

"Who knew, Uchiha could be romantic." Temari clapped. "I'm proud of him." Ino growled.

"This isn't fair! I should have won! What does Sasuke have that Kiba doesn't?"

"An IQ."

"Class."

"G-grace."

"Clean breath."

Ino shook her head at her friends. And they said _she _was the shallow one. Well, she wouldn't pick Kiba over Sasuke either but still! Tenten was supposed to be her best friend! She shouldn't have let stupid Sakura win! Ino mentally cursed the panda girl.

She had a sudden epiphany, which caused her to smile mischeviously.

_Maybe if Sasuke proved to be a bad boyfriend, she would have a chance to redeem herself._

* * *

**A/N: **_Wow, Sasuke, who knew you could be so smooth. You won over the main character in only a chapter! I'm impressed! Now what is Ino planning? Also…I read my old stories on deviantart, and this isn't the first time Sasuke tried to steal Tenten from Neji. MAN, what's your beef! _

_Also, I planned for this story to be short so I'm not even sure if it'll get up to ten chapters. It was originally supposed to be a one shot but I got carried away...teehee. Still, I like where it's going. :3  
_


	6. Ino's Second Plan

**Chapter Six: **Ino's Second Plan

**A/N: **_If I owned Naruto, I'd probably be rich, and Neji would be Tenten's baby daddy in Shipuuden. Yup._

* * *

_Your love is my heart disease…_

Tenten practically _floated_ to her training session with her squad. "Neji, Tenten, my balls of blossoming youth!" Gai hugged the two, causing Neji to squirm around, uncomfortably. "Your youthful sparring session has to be cut short, because our youthful lord Hokage has granted us with a MISSION! Though it is B-Ranked, so we will go at it with our fullest! We are in the prime of our youth and we will complete this mission youthfully!"

"Let's hope it's a quick one.." Tenten mumbled. However, Gai heard her.

"Why's that, my youthful flower?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her.

"Um…I have a date.." She practically whispered. All three of her male teammates stared at her. For a while there, Gai had almost forgotten that Tenten was a woman, despite being his youthful flower. Lee beamed, hugging the girl.

"With who, flower!" He questioned excitedly. Neji crossed his arms. He _wanted _to hear this. Tenten chuckled nervously.

"My um…boyfriend." When they gave her confused looks, she laughed harder. Neji narrowed his eyes, ready to kill. "…Sasuke."

"Oh my god!" Gai exclaimed with tears in his eyes. He squeezed the life out of his kunoichi student, twirling her around. "My youthful flower is youthfully growing up and blossoming into a youthful young woman." Neji glared at Gai, wanting to punch him each time he said 'youthful'. In fact, Neji wanted to punch everything. Specifically a certain Uchiha. He began to walk away, punching the closest thing to him—a tree. _Sorry, mother nature._

He wasn't sorry.

* * *

Tenten stood in Tsunade's office, mentally groaning. Shikamaru was accompanying them on this mission, which meant only one thing. They were escorting Temari safely back to Suna.

"Why can't she escort herself?" Tenten accidentally expressed her thoughts allowed. Tsunade, Gai, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru and Temari herself all looked at the panda-headed girl. Tenten covered mouth immediately. Temari stood up, placing a hand to her heart.

"I see how it is, Tenten. You have a boyfriend now, so you want to ditch me as a friend." Temari faked a sad tone. "That's okay—it's perfectly fine. You're in the honeymoon stage; you can't get enough of your dear Uchiha boy. I get it. I'm no longer an important figure in your life! Fine, Fine. Cancel the mission, Tsunade-sama. I'll just travel for three days, alone, with a broken heart because of my dear-"

"Okay, okay, OKAY." Tenten shouted. "See you guys at the gate." She didn't hide the anger in her voice. She walked out of the door, slamming it behind her. Temari laughed a little.

"She's just messing around." She wasn't sure if she was reassuring the others, or herself.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled and laid down on Tsunade's couch.

"Tenten has a boyfriend?" Tsunade asked, with concern in her voice. Temari nodded. "Neji, you finally grew some balls and-"

"It's Sasuke." Neji growled under his breath. He too walked out of the door. Tsunade shot Temari a look, who responded by shrugging.

"It was Sakura's idea." Tsunade shook her head.

"Troublesome, indeed."

* * *

Neji attempted to get to the Gate quickly, not wanting to make contact with anyone, in fear he might just _slaughter _them. However, his thoughts and walking pace were interrupted when he heard the small coo of his cousin's voice. He turned around and saw Hinata, standing with her younger sister, Hanabi.

"N-neji-oniisama…you seem out of place." Hinata stated, quietly. Neji raised an eyebrow, wondering how she knew. Neji wasn't stupid enough to show his anger. "Y-your aura. I k-kinda sensed it." Hinata answered his unasked question. Neji took a deep breath and sat down on a nearby bench. Hanabi and Hinata repeated this action and sat down on either side of him.

"Tenten is dating that Uchiha brat."

"So what?" Hanabi responded almost immediately. "Unless, you like her or something?" Hinata giggled at how her younger sister was still a little less dense than her older cousin.

"NO!" Neji snapped back, quickly. "It's unsettling, though. That stupid bastard is bound to hurt her. It's probably a bet or something."

"Wow, Neji. That's nice. You think the only way someone would show interest in me is if it was a freaking bet." The three Hyuuga's turned around to see Tenten, standing behind the bench. Neji silently cursed himself for not being able to sense her approaching. "Thanks. _A lot._" Tenten walked off.

"W-wait, Tenten-chan!" Hinata stood up and started after the girl. "H-he didn't mean it like t-that!" Hanabi shook her head and looked up at her cousin.

"You're an imbecile!" She followed her sister away. Neji massaged his temple, thinking of all the possible ways he could kill himself while remaining unnoticed.

"Hey, Neji-san!" He jumped at the annoying, shrill voice of that _annoying_, shallow blonde. He looked up to see Ino, with a big smile on her face.

"What do you want?" He snapped. Ino resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I heard Tenten and Sasuke have a thing." Neji nodded, wondering what the fuck the blonde wanted from him. "It's not gonna last long, I can tell. I hear Sasuke's a total womanizer. He gets into relationships, and cheats on the girl's the very same day." Ino was lying through her teeth. She was almost positive that this is the first relationship that Sasuke had ever been in. "I hear he has a goal to get with every kunoichi around his age in Konoha."

"Seriously?" Neji successfully masked his surprise. Ino nodded. Neji stood up, with clenched fists. "Thanks, Ino." He growled. Ino smirked, watching his disappearing silhouette.

Now all she had to do was get Sasuke to actually cheat on Tenten. Shouldn't be too hard, _right?_

* * *

Team Gai stood at the gate, with Temari and Shikamaru. Tenten was utterly baffled. It was perhaps the first time since they were placed on the team, that Neji was not the first to show up for a mission. She was beginning to get worried, until the Hyuuga showed up. He started out of the gate, without a word. The five exchanged glances before following the prodigy. Lee and Gai ran far ahead of the rest. Temari walked close to Shikamaru, whispering something in a low voice, causing her companion to mumble something along the lines of, "troublesome" and "annoying". Neji walked ahead of Temari and Shikamaru in silence. Tenten narrowed her eyes and caught up with him.

"Neji!" He didn't answer her. He kept walking, and Tenten noticed that he _increased_ his pace. Tenten huffed and walked faster, struggling to keep up with him. "You can't avoid me—especially since we're gonna be travelling together." Neji didn't look at her, but slowed his pace. "I don't get why you're so mad at me! I didn't do anything to you!"

"Maybe he's jealous!" Temari called out from behind them. This earned her a glare from both Tenten and the Hyuuga prodigy. After a few moments, Tenten noticed that Neji didn't deny it. Suddenly, it clicked.

"Neji, you don't have to hide your feelings from me. I'm your best friend!" Tenten huffed. Neji stopped walking and looked at her like she had twenty-five heads. "I know that you're jealous, and I understand why now." Tenten put a hand to her heart. "It's perfectly fine. Don't try to hide who you are any longer. You should have just told me that you had feelings for Sasuke!" Tenten threw her arms around Neji, who was currently contemplating suicide. "I'll still love you, no matter what!" Temari shook her head and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I never knew she was so dumb…" Shikamaru stated.

"How do you think I so easily manipulate her?"

* * *

**A/N: **_Ah, dear sweet Tenten. What ever will we do with you?_

_**PeppaPig: Thanks so much! And yu**__**p, I've been practicing. I try to keep them in character, but still extremely lovable.**_

_**animefangirl95: Yup...Ino's planning something BIIIIG. And right? Who knew the Hyuuga could be so dumb?**_

_I don't directly address anon reviews for some odd reason, but they're still GREATLY appreciated. To whoever my anons are, with reviews subjects as 'hello', 'mariana', and 'pecanpie lover', THANKYOU! I love you all so much! Thanks for reading this!  
_


	7. Ino's Hired Help!

**Chapter Seven: **Ino's Hired Help!

**A/N: **_I don't own Naruto because if I did Tayuya would be alive and she would make babies with Gaara and I'd actually understand what's happening! I was gonna use the Dollars to Yen converter that I have on my laptop but I realize some people might not know the ratio of dollars to yen so…_

* * *

"Ino, you must be out of your mind. Tenten hates me, and I have no intentions of getting killed by that bitch."

"Stop complaining, damn it. I'm _paying _you fifty dollars." Ino snarled. She didn't blame Tenten- even she hated the girl.

"I know that but she's still crazy. My life is worth more than fifty dollars." The girl smirked.

"Damn it, you stupid bi-"

"But I'll do it, just because I love making little Tenny _shiver._"

"Great, this will be great."

* * *

Sasuke was walking around his village, and he actually _wasn't_ frowning. In fact, he was almost happy. The only thing he could smell was a mix of dango dumplings and French vanilla body lotion. The only thing he could taste were cherries and metal, with a slight tang of blood. The only thing he could feel were the rough callouses of her hands. The only thing he could hear was the chirpy sound of her voice. The only thing he could see was the big grin that she often wore. All these things made his stomach do backflips, and his heart me-

Wait. _What?_

She was simply his pawn—a piece in the game that he was playing with Neji. He didn't actually like her. Sasuke Uchiha never liked anyone.

Well…except that one girl a few years back…what was her name…did he really forget that easily? Ah, right...Miharu. Miharu Shimizu.

But that girl didn't matter anymore, no girl mattered. Even though Sasuke Uchiha would never admit it, he was definitely falling in love wi-

"Ucccccchiha Sasuke. Long time no talk!"

* * *

Sai had been sitting on a bench outside of the Yamanaka flower shop painting. He was trying his best to focus on his artwork, which was usually easy for him. But, I highly doubt _you've_ ever tried painting with the almost inaudible, but very irritating, sound of Ino Yamanaka whispering to herself. Sai glared at his sketchbook, shutting it closed. He stood up and started into the flower shop, but changed his mind and decided to eavesdrop. _That was more fun anyway._

"Perfect, perfect, perfect! Miharu could easily win Sasuke's heart by reviving his childhood affections, he'll break up with Tenten, I'll hook her up with a boy of my choice and I WILL BE BETTER THAN SAKURA!"

"And who would a boy of your choice be?" Sai decided to blow his cover, just out of curiosity. Ino jumped in surprise, dropping all the roses in her hands.

"What the _hell_?" Ino glared, shaking her fists at the boy. Sai sighed.

"It's not important. Now tell me, who did you want to hook Tenten up with?" He flashed his signature fake smile, in hopes of getting on her good side.

"Well, I was thinking Kiba but that failed…"

"What in your right mind made you think that it would work?" Sai gave her a strange look. Ino rolled her eyes, ready to hit the boy. "I was thinking someone more along the lines of Neji."

"Neji?"

"Yup. They're in love…they just don't know it yet."

"How are you so sure, Sai?" Sai took a deep breath. Damn, this girl asked a lot of questions.

"Tenten's my only close friend outside of my squad." He hated to admit this, but it was true. He didn't mind though, because Tenten made up for all the friends in the world.

"I guess you're right…but I had a feeling that Neji would be Hinata's guy." Ino scratched her head. Proving to Temari that she was better than Sakura was definitely not worth stealing Hinata's shine.

"And I also have a feeling that neither of us is very close to Neji, so we don't know anything about his feelings for Tenten, or what type of girls he's attracted to." Ino raised an eyebrow.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, we're going to get this Mihanno girl to seduce Neji, and make Tenten…what's the emotion? Right, jealous. We'll make Tenten jealous, and she'll reveal to Neji that she's in love with him." Sai snapped his fingers.

"It's _Miharu_, you pasty ghost." A voice came from behind them. Sai swiveled around and was nearly knocked out. The girl that faced him had short, even shorter than his own, light blue hair and eyes to match. She was wearing a short dress, and Sai wondered how it was possible for someone to fight in that. She was taller than Ino, but shorter than himself.

"Who are you?"

"Sai, Miharu. Miharu, Sai." Ino laughed, nervously. Sai narrowed his eyes at the 'Miharu' girl. Who knew Sasuke was attracted to such _sluts_?

"I don't know Neji that well, but I highly doubt this…this, thing would be able to attract him." Sai felt something in his stomach, and he was pretty sure it that thing people called 'disgust'. The girl crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't underestimate what I can attract." She winked. Ino nodded.

"Miharu is the type of kunoichi who is trained in seduction. She-"

"There are kunoichi that are _trained _in seduction?" Sai knew all too well about this emotion- bewilderment.

"Don't interrupt me!" Ino jabbed him in the forehead. "Yes, they do. There's a special team of them that are sent out on missions, usually B-ranked espionage ones, that require for them to seduce the target and get them at their weakest point. Then, and only then do they-"

"Okay, okay, okay, shut the hell up. That's not important right now. What is important is how much extra you'll be paying me." Miharu smirked, looking in between the two. Ino massaged her temple.

"You're paying this time." She growled at Sai.

* * *

**A/N: **_Personally, I despise OCs. I was going to use Karin for this, but I simply couldn't find a way to fit her in. Like three or four years back when I first started writing fanfics, I used to love OCs and I made the most Mary-Sue-ish OCs you can think of. To avoid that, I've just given up on them all together. But here's Miharu. Luckily for everyone, she won't be in it too much. Everything I said about specialized seduction kunioichi was completely made up as I went along._

**_Animefangirl95: Yeah, Tenten and Neji are both so stupid! I used to hate Ino, so it's a habit to make her the bitch in all my fanfictions. But don't worry, she has good intentions._**

_****__PeppaPig: Dude, you're reading my mind. Don't worry, she ISN'T the bitch in this story._  



	8. Step Aside Ladies! Sai's Plan

**Chapter Eight: **Step Aside, Ladies! Sai's Plan Takes Action!

**A/N: **_If you think I own Naruto, then you need to see a psychiatrist. I do have rights over Miharu though. ;) Just kidding, I don't even want her._

Neji Hyuuga knew that hotels in Suna sucked. Neji Hyuuga knew that he would have to share a room with his teammate who he was on far from good terms with. What Neji didn't know was how hard her death grip was.

He wasn't complaining, though. What reason did he have to complain? His best friend, and the only non-Hyuuga female he was close to, had her head pressed to his chest. Luckily for him, she was in too deep of a sleep to notice how quickly his heartbeat had increased. After sitting up for hours evaluating his situation, Neji finally gave in to his temptations. He slowly wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her even closer than she had been before. He wondered how it was possible that she had a heart rate to compete with that of a rat. He shook the thought from his mind and closed his eyes, drifting to sleep.

Little did he know, Temari was standing in the door frame, with her camera in her hand. She giggled and walked into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Shikamaru there, up way earlier than he should have been.

"Wow, Shikamaru Nara awake before 12pm. Even I'm surprised, and I've seen Shikamaru Nara do quite a lot of surprising things." Temari cooed, walking up behind the shinobi. Shikamaru took a deep breath and rolled his eyes at his troublesome woman. Temari placed the Polaroid photo onto the newspaper Shikamaru was reading, never removing the smile from her face. Shikamaru examined it before nodding and handing it back to her. "_Well?"_

"Well, what?" Shikamaru didn't look directly at the sandy blonde. Apparently, his newspaper was more important. Temari snatched it from his hands. "Give it back, Temari."

"Well, what do you think of the photograph?" Temari stepped back, outstretching her arm away from Shikamaru. Said shinobi took a deep breath.

"I think it's so good that you should quit being a kunoichi and become a photographer." Temari rolled her eyes at this and threw the newspaper at him.

"I don't know why I put up with you." She walked out the room, leaving Shikamaru in peace.

"I'm the one who's wondering why I put up with you." The boy mumbled under his breath.

"What was that!"

"Nothing." God, was she troublesome.

* * *

Tenten felt the soft, rhythmic patterns of a heart against her chest. She laughed a little, this was the first time that she had felt her heartbeat so fully. It was as if her heart was outside of her, pounding against her chest. Tenten nuzzled into the silky cloth that her face was being pushed against and let out a happy sigh.

"Hn." She heard a familiar sound, like the coo of a dove. Her eyes shot open and she looked around. _Where the fuck was she?_ Suddenly, it all hit her like a bomb of shuriken. She was in Neji Hyuuga's arms, at Temari's house. After realizing this, Tenten concluded that she had three options. She could freak out further and wake the boy up, try to slip out from his grasps, or wait for him to wake up. She took a deep breath, knowing that she would have to go with the last option. Neji wasn't really someone whose grasps you could just _slip_ out of. Tenten didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes, because she felt his arms move away from her, releasing the grip. Tenten looked up at Neji, who was staring down at her with a blank expression on his face. "Hey." Tenten narrowed her eyes at the boy and jumped out of the bed.

"Ohayo!" She decided to ignore the fact that she was still mad at him. "Get up, sunshine!" She beamed. Neji glared at her and rolled over on his side.

"Let me sleep." Tenten was almost shocked by his reaction, and wondered if Ino had used her Mind Body Switch technique on Neji and Shikamaru. But of course, that was impossible.

"Alright, fine. You can stay here in Suna, but I have affairs to attend to in Konoha." Tenten started out of the room.

"Affairs involving Sasuke?" Tenten twitched, and couldn't tell if the tone in Neji's voice was grogginess or anger. She assumed it was the former because Neji had _no_ right to be mad at her. After spending the past three days giving her an attitude, she was the one who should have been using angry tones to him.

"Y'know what, Hyuuga," Tenten swiveled around on her foot, "I don't know what your problem is lately, but I don't like it one bit."

"I don't have a problem." Neji retorted in a low voice. He still wasn't facing her, which made her want to stab him with one thousand kunai.

"Really? Maybe it's just me, but you've been giving me even more of an attitude than usual when you found out I was dating Sasuke." Tenten decided she was the one who would have to make an effort and walked to the other side of the bed.

"Hn."

"Don't 'hn' me, Hyuuga! What's your deal?" She growled. Neji sat up fully and let out a deep, annoyed sigh.

"Sasuke's going to hurt you, and when he does I don't want you to come crying to me. So to avoid that, I simply think that you should break up with him now, and make all of our lives easier." Neji laid back down, once again not facing her.

"I don't need you protecting me like I'm a child, I can take care of myself!" Tenten snapped. "Even if he does hurt me—which he won't, I'd never come to YOU for any sympathy!"

"Of course you wouldn't, because I told you that I didn't want you to." Neji stated, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No. I wouldn't because you're a self-centered, inconsiderate,_ douche!"_ Tenten stomped out of the room angrily. Temari smiled when her brunette friend entered the kitchen.

"Oha-"

"Can it." Tenten growled. Temari raised her arms defensively.

"Chill, I didn't even do-"

"Temari, I hate him." Tenten stomped over to her Sunan friend. Temari raised an eyebrow. "_Hyuuga_!" Tenten shouted in her face, answering the unasked question. "I can't stand being around him. Every time I see him I just want to throw a bunch of kunai at him. He's so…so…so-"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru interjected. Tenten snapped her fingers.

"Yeah, that! He's troublesome!"

"No." Shikamaru shook his head. "I mean this situation is troublesome. He's in love with you, and you're in love with him. You guys just don't see it because your path of vision is being blocked by a wall of stupidity." Shikamaru placed the photo that Temari took earlier into Tenten's hands.

"What would you know about being in love?" Tenten enquired. Now, this sounded like something mean to say, but Tenten was truly curious about her pineapple headed friend's love life. She almost thought she saw Shikamaru glance at Temari.

"Quite a lot, actually." He exited the room. Temari nodded at her bunned friend and followed him out, leaving Tenten there to absorb his words.

* * *

Sai was walking through the village with Miharu by his side. "How have you done with Sasuke so far?" Sai wondered. Miharu shrugged.

"He's not being as cooperative as I would have hoped." Miharu took a deep breath and rolled her eyes.

"I thought you were trained in this?" Sai glared at her, quizzically. Miharu shook her head and began to walk ahead, obviously annoyed with the boy.

"When's the Hyuuga coming back from his mission?" She tried to hide the amusement in her voice.

"Not sure…I think in three days or something." Sai shrugged and continued to walk behind her. Miharu rolled her eyes again.

"How in hell were you made to be Sasuke's replacement? He's actually useful." Miharu snapped. Sai rolled his eyes and walked ahead of her.

"I don't really care." He waved his arm at her and walked away. Miharu smirked and skipped into the Yamanaka flower shop. She was surprised to see Sasuke there, chatting away with Ino.

"Looks like I might have to give you back your fifty dollars." Miharu tried to contain her laughter. Ino narrowed her eyes at the girl, and Sasuke turned around.

"Shut _up_!" Ino snarled, shaking her fist at the bluette. Miharu smiled sweetly.

"But why, dear Ino?" Miharu's voice dripped with false innocence. Ino rolled her eyes and Sasuke looked in between the two girls.

"What's going on here?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Ino began to laugh nervously, and Miharu shrugged.

"Nothing, nothing at all. What do you mean S-Sasuke?" Ino looked around the room, avoiding his glare. Miharu slapped her face with her hand.

"If nothing's going on, then why the hell are you stuttering like Hinata?" Sasuke stepped closer to her. Ino tried to move, but he had her against the wall. He raised his arms on each side of her, restricting her movement. Ino opened her mouth to answer, but Miharu beat her to it.

"If you want the truth, Ino's just looking out for Tenten, and for you." Miharu took a deep breath. "Even though I hate the panda bitch, Ino asked me to get you to break up with Tenten."

"How is that looking out for either of us?" Sasuke glared at the blonde, who shrunk under his gaze.

"Tenten is in love with Neji." Miharu shrugged, smiling. Sasuke dropped his hands and turned to Miharu.

"I know. I'm only dating her to get Neji jealous." Sasuke grinned. Miharu shook her head, trying her best to contain her giggles.

"Who knew you were in on this?"

"I'm not. I just like to piss the Hyuuga off." Ino looked in between the two, her mouth gapped open.

"Miharu, this was _not _the plan!" She huffed.

"I went with Sai's plan over yours." Miharu smirked.

"WHY?"

"Because he paid me more!"

"You _paid _her…?" Sasuke shook his head.

* * *

**A/N: _I cried! I was amused by this chapter and the little ShikaTema fluff in there….AH!_**

**_PeppaPig: Calm yourself! Ino's good!_**

**_Alexa Hiwatari: Its cute, and I write it quite a lot for some reason..._**

**_Dreaming101: Thanks!_**

**_Animefangirl95: Thats exactly right~ And thank you!  
_**


	9. Hinata's Plan Revealed!

**Chapter Nine: **Hinata's Plan-Revealed!

**A/N: **_Don't own Naruto, but I unfortunately own Miharu. Last chapter? I think yes!_

* * *

Tenten was awoken to the sound of a soft knock on her door. She rubbed her eyes and mumbled something in a different language before standing up and walking to the door. On her way, she passed the mirror and stepped back, staring at herself. She shrugged, figuring her guest wouldn't mind her oversized pajama shirt, that was probably formerly Neji's.

"Ho." She yawned.

"Tenten, we need to talk." Tenten's eyes shot open to the sound of her boyfriend's voice. He let himself in and Tenten closed the door behind him. Sasuke sat down on the couch and put his legs up on her coffee table, making himself comfortable. He looked around and turned to her. "Where's your family?"

"I don't have one." Tenten laughed nervously and sat down next to him. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?" She smiled. Sasuke avoided her gaze and looked up at the ceiling.

"We have to break up." He said in a quick breath.

"You and the ceiling?" She chuckled. When Sasuke glared at her, she shut her mouth. "Sorry, sorry, you're being serious. But…why?"

"I…err…" Sasuke gave himself a few seconds to think of a response, "Have feelings for another." The Uchiha wanted to smack himself. He had no reason to be nervous. It's not like he was afraid of the girl- why would he be? She wasn't threatening at all. So why couldn't he just _do _this?

"Oh." Was the only response the ox-horn haired girl given. "I guess that's alright then, I mean I much prefer being your friend!" Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"Yes. Friends?" He held out a hand. Tenten nodded and shook it.

"Friends."

* * *

"She hates me, Hinata." Neji stated, matter-of-factly. "Now can you both get out of my room? I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood, you little priss!" Hanabi shook her fist at her older cousin. Neji smacked her hand away from his face.

"That sounded dirty." He commented. Hanabi rolled her eyes and Hinata wondered who was really the older one.

"N-neji-oniisama, I don't think she h-hates you." Hinata stuttered. "I think y-you should just a-apologize." Neji shook his head.

"Hinata, you know how stubborn she is. She'll cut my head off as soon as she sees me." Hinata nodded,

"Yeah, that's probably true." Hanabi cut in. Neji glared at her and pushed her lightly.

"Go _away, _Hanabi. This isn't kid stuff. Mind your business."

"Well, I could help!" Hanabi stomped. "No offense, but Hinata's a little too quiet to help in the relationship department, and I'm pretty sure I could get more girls than you if I tried." Neji took a deep breath, ashamed that this was actually pretty accurate.

"Alright, you can say, but shut up and stop making annoying commentary." Neji turned back to Hinata. "Anyway, what should I do?"

"T-tell her h-how you f-feel." Hinata smiled softly. Neji shook his head yet again.

"Are you _crazy_?" He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. "First of all, she wouldn't believe me. And even if she did, she'd reject me."

"Of course she would, because you've been acting like an ass to her lately." Hanabi pointed out. Neji shot her a death glare. "Sorry."

"J-just explain w-why you were acting that w-way." Hinata responded, ignoring Hanabi. Neji took a deep breath.

"Alright, alright, alright." Neji massaged his temple. "I'll do it." Hinata and Hanabi danced a silent victory.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was lying on her bed, with her head in Tenten's lap. Sakura smiled to herself as Tenten gently ran her fingers through her hair.

"I miss Temari." Tenten frowned. Sakura nodded, looking up at her.

"Yeah, but enough of that. Where's Hinata?" The pinkette asked. Tenten shrugged.

"She's helping her cousin train, since his normal sparring buddy doesn't seem to be available." Ino shot Tenten a look. Tenten rolled her eyes. "Anyway, how's Sasuke?" Ino winked. Tenten let out a deep sigh and looked at her blonde friend.

"He likes you." Tenten laughed a little. "Isn't that funny?"

"FUCK." Sakura yelled out, snapping her fingers together. "This isn't fair!"  
"Great!" Ino beamed. "Now I can hook you up with Shika and prove to be the better mat-"

"You're not hooking Shika up with anyone." The three girls looked to the door and saw a familiar turquoise eyed sandy blonde.

"Temari!" Tenten stood up, causing Sakura to fall onto the ground, planting her face on the wood. Tenten skipped over her body and tackled Temari into an embrace.

"Sakura, you were insufficient yet again." Temari patted Tenten's back. "Now, it's all up to Hinata." She shook her head.

"Hinata can handle it." Ino waved her hand dismissively. Temari pulled out a kunai and twirled it around her finger.

"Who wants to see me wedge this into Ino's skull?" Temari smirked, looking in between Tenten and Sakura.

"I do." A voice came from the door. The four girls turned to see Miharu, standing with her hand on her hip.

"Sakura, you really gotta learn to lock your front doors." Temari commented. Tenten narrowed her eyes at the bluette.

"What are you doing here? I was beginning to think my dream of you going back to your village had come true." Tenten snapped. Miharu shook her head, never wiping the smile off her face.

"Kiriagakure doesn't need me." Miharu shrugged, smiling. "Looks like Neji does, though." Tenten took a deep breath, trying to keep her fists from shaking.

"Ten, calm down…" Temari stated slowly.

"Yes, _Tenny_, no hard feelings. You have Sasuke, after all." Miharu fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh wait, I took him too."

"Hm, that sounds fair." Tenten nodded, calming down. Ino, Sakura, Temari, and Miharu all widened their eyes at her.

"It is?" Miharu's mouth gapped open.

"Yup. You can take Sasuke and Neji because…" Tenten punched the girl in the face, causing her to fly across the room. "I'm about to take your life!"

"Tenten!" Temari grabbed her arm, but was shaken off.

"Get off me! I'm _tired_ of her!" Tenten rolled up her sleeves. "You wanna try to take Sasuke from me, and mess with Neji too? Neji would _never_ go for you! You're classless, irritating, and you look like a boy!"

"More of a boy than Neji does." Ino mumbled. Sakura hit her on the side of her head.

"Tenten's right, let her fight her own battle." Sakura stated. The three girls watched, using all their will power to not jump in. Miharu grabbed one of Tenten's arms and swung her around pushing her against the wall. Tenten swiveled on her heal and pushed Miharu out the window. Before she fell out though, Miharu grabbed Tenten's arm and pulled her out with her. "Lucky for them, I live on the first floor." Sakura laughed a little. Temari and Ino gave her weird stares before going out the door.

Miharu had Tenten in a head lock, and Tenten was kicking her legs, struggling to get out of it. "Get off me!" Tenten flipped the girl over her head. Miharu smiled at Tenten.

"You're so silly; I'm barely putting up a fight. Damn, you're weak." Miharu shook her head. Tenten clenched her fists and growled.

"I'll wipe that arrogant expression off your face!" Tenten kicked the bluette square in the jaw. Miharu flew back and landed on the ground. She began to spit out some blood, rubbing her cheek.

"Look at the time, I gotta go. We'll play more later, Tenten." Miharu winked and disappeared. Tenten shook her head.

"I'm going home." She grunted, leaving her friends standing on the sidewalk.

* * *

Tenten walked to the field of her team's training grounds and sat down, leaning against the nearest tree. She ignored the aura that she felt approaching—obviously Neji's. After what happened with Miharu last night, she was in no mood to face the temperamental Hyuuga.

"Tenten." The Hyuuga boy crotched down in front of her and looked at her closed eyelids.

"What?" The panda-earred girl snapped, not bothering to open her eyes. Neji examined her face. She had a scratch around her right eye, as if someone had tried to claw it out. There was a red mark of dried blood on her foor head, and bruises all along her neck.

"What happened to you? Your face…"He raised his hand and gently touched her cheek. "…It looks hurt."

"I got into a fight with your girlfriend." Tenten's eyes shot open, the venom in her voice was evident. Neji looked into her eyes, a sparkle of confusing shining through them.

"I don't have a girlfriend…literally and figuratively. You're the only non-Hyuuga girl I willingly associate with." Neji crossed his arms. Tenten's eyes widened.

"But, Miharu?"

"_Who_?" When Tenten didn't answer, Neji took a deep breath. "I don't know anyone by that name. I can assure you that, unless she is perfectly identical to you, I wouldn't be interested in her." Tenten could have sworn she heard a familiar blonde coo the word 'smooth'. She figured that was just her imagination, and Ino was haunting her.

"Wait…w-what?" Tenten didn't have to see herself to know her face was as red as a tomato.

"I'm in love with you, stupid." Neji mumbled, never removing that stoic expression from his face. Tenten smiled anyway, because she could see the light shade of pink that washed over his cheeks.

"She's in love with you too." Tenten definitely wasn't imagining it that time. Especially when she heard an 'you're gonna ruin it you idiots!' that sounded suspiciously like Temari. Tenten and Neji exchanged glances and walked to a nearby tree. They both looked behind it to see Sakura and Sai, standing way too close together in attempts to hide themselves. Behind the other tree was Hinata and Ino, and Temari and Miharu behind one more.

"What the _hell?_" Tenten glared at them. Sasuke and Shikamaru appeared from a tree on the other side of the field.

"You see…that whole 'we're each gonna hook you up with a guy' thing was all just a decoy." Sakura admitted. Tenten narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean it was a decoy?"

"W-we all p-planned to hook y-you up with N-neji-oniisama." Hinata continued.

"Sooooo, we made a plan within a plan so you wouldn't catch on. Even Miharu was in on it." Temari waved her hand in the bluette's direction. Miharu flashed the pair a smile.

"I told them it was stupid." Shikamaru commented.

"It was stupid, I admit, but it worked." Sai pointed out. Tenten and Neji exchanged glances.

"Hey, Neji. I have an idea for our first date." She smiled at the long haired boy. Neji nodded, motioning for her to continue. "It involves the death of…" Tenten began counting.

"Eight people." Neji finished for her. Everyone except for them gulped.

"Wah! But it was Hinata's idea!" Ino cried.

"Hey, wanna give them a head start?" Tenten tilted her head to the side, ignoring the blonde. Neji shook his head.

"Tenten, you're way too nice."

* * *

**A/N: _It's over! It's over! Yay, yay! Finished! Sorry, this chapter was rushed and terrible but this story was supposed to be short to begin with and I just wanted to get over with it. I'm somewhat ashamed of this terrible ending. Epilogue, perhaps? Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.  
_**

**_I'm starting a new story…an AU story. Normally, I hate those but I was reading NANA vol. 9 and the idea came, and now it won't go away. But I need an "artist" for Ino. If Ino were a singer…what would she sound like? (Give me some names of some singers.)_**


	10. Epilogue: Dates Gone Wrong!

Epilogue: Dates Gone Wrong

**a/n: _Noticed how many hits this had and was so thankful I've decided to indulge some people's wishes and create an epilogue._**

* * *

Ino Yamanaka tapped her foot against the branch that she was crouched upon. She glared at the figures a few meters ahead. One was unseen, completely shielded by a barrier of spinning chakra. The other was dancing in the air, weapons coming from each and every direction as she pressed lightly against the spinning scrolls by her side. Ino jumped of the branch, undetected. She took a kunai out of her fanny pack and launched it in their direction. Of course it went unnoticed by the spinner, and mixed itself into the barrage of weapons being thrown at him. She stood up and dusted herself off. She slowly made her way towards the two figures.

"Tenten!" Her shrill voice cut through the forest air. The dancing beauty halted to a stop and landed on her feet, her weapons scattering down beside her. Ino smirked, proud of the volume her voice could extend to.

Somewhere in Sunagakure, the young Kazekage was silently praying that Konoha's weapons mistress could survive the wrath that was Yamanaka Ino.

Back in the forest of Konoha, Neji and Tenten were both staring at Ino. One had a surprised but amused look on their face, while the other just glared at the blonde. You can probably guess who was doing what. "What do you want?" Neji questioned, the venom seeping out of each word as he spoke. Ino crossed her arms and graced him with an equally ferocious glare.

"I'm just curious as to how you guys have been dating for two months now, and you still haven't had a _real_ first date. Beating up all your friends DOES NOT COUNT!" Ino stomped her foot on the ground indignantly. Tenten let out a loud, agitated sigh. _Here we go…_ "Even Sasuke takes me out every once in a while, and you know how Sasuke is!"

"It's simple, because we aren't children like the majority of you." Neji uncrossed his arms and they dropped to his sides. "We enjoy each other's company, and we don't need to go to an overpriced restaurant every night to prove that."

"Or maybe," Ino grinned evilly, "you're afraid of PDAs. I don't see why you would be, though. You've got a really cute gal over here…unless, you're afraid someone with more personality might sweep her off her feet?" Neji's icy cold glare would normally scare the shit out of the blonde, but she was having too much fun.

"Or maybe, you're an instigating bitch who _clearly_ has a death wish." Neji clenched his fist. Tenten sighed and began to massage her temple, in attempts to keep calm.

"You'd hit a woman?" Ino fake-gasped. "Tenten, what do you see in this woman abuser?"

"I'd _barely_ count you as a woman." Neji retorted, earning him a glare from Ino. Tenten chuckled slightly at the two. Ino shook her fist angrily. "I'll humour you, though."

"You dirty little—wait, what?" Ino dropped her fist and looked at the prodigal genius with a bewildered expression. Neji rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I said I'd humour you. Tenten, I'm picking you up tonight at seven to take you anywhere you wish to go." Neji swiveled on his heel and began walking away. "Then I will prove how senseless it is to go on dates. Tenten and I go on dates every day when we train, nuisance." With that, the Hyuuga was disappearing out of the forest and the two girls stood in shook.

"What just happened?" Tenten asked no one in particular.

"I think…I think I just played your boyfriend for a fool," Ino grinned, triumphantly. "Time to go check that off of my bucket list!"

* * *

Sai stared down at his sketch book for a few moments before glancing at the town beneath him. He stared back at his paper and raised an eyebrow. With a click of his tongue and a shake of his head, the paper was discarded. He looked down again and could see a bob of pink approaching his home. He didn't have to look any further to know that the bob was Sakura Haruno, making her way over to his home. He jumped off of his roof and clapped his hands together, dusting off any remaining charcoal.

"Sakura." He looked down at his teammate, who was slightly shorter than him. Upon seeing him, she smiled widely. Sai's facial expression remained blank as he dropped his hands to his sides. "What are you doing here?" He asked, after some time. Sakura didn't answer but grabbed his wrist and led him into his home. If he weren't himself, he would have been disturbed by the pinkette's actions. Instead, he just let her drag him along like a rag doll and push him into a chair once they reached his small kitchen. He scratched his non-sleeved arm and stared at her impassively, dark eyes following her movements as she stalked into the kitchen. He continued to watch her as she filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. He scratched his nose as she turned to him and clapped her hands together, the smile on her face growing into a large grin.

"Neji and Tenten are going on a date!" Sakura exclaimed, happily. Sai blinked and stared into her viridian eyes that were beaming with happiness. He scratched his left hand, suddenly feeling itchy all over. He looked at her again, his expression remaining blank. He glanced around the room and wondered if she was seriously excited over something so trivial. He then began to think that maybe he was in the wrong, and that he wasn't excited enough. He stared back at his teammate, who was looking at him expectantly. He studied her expression and, after a few seconds, copied it. Sakura nodded, happy with the reaction she had received from her pale companion. "We should go on a double date with them!" Sai did not even realize how, why, or when Sakura had gotten so close to him, but their faces were only inches apart as she stared at him with wide eyes. She looked like she was about to cry as her face formed into a pout. He glanced around nervously. Sai really did not want to deal with a crying Sakura by himself, especially since he didn't know what to do.

"Alright," he nodded, curtly. Sakura's facial expression went back to its previous grin and she was bouncing happily in his kitchen, ignoring his lack of enthusiasm. She stopped bouncing and turned to look at Sai, her expression soundly serious. Sai's expression, as always, showed none of the emotions that he couldn't feel. Sakura squinted at him and she swore that she could see his eyebrow twitch slightly. He cleared his throat and glanced around again. _Confusing_. According to his books, that was the name of the emotion he was currently feeling. He usually got these strange itches and urges to break out into a run when he was having conversations with Ino, who was oddly complex despite her bubbly, and slightly idiotic, personality.

"Thank you, Sai." Sakura's newfound manners caused something to rumble in Sai's stomach, but the itches went away. _Surprise._ Sakura being oddly nice at him, Sasuke speaking to him, Neji and Tenten actually going on a date…yes, Sai was experiencing quite a lot of 'surprises' this week.

* * *

Sasuke was seated on the wooden bench outside of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, his expression blank. He stared up at the blue, cloudless sky ahead of him. He sighed and began to examine his nails. His lips twisted into a slight frown and his eyebrows twitched. He narrowed his eyes, as if glaring at his own hand. Sasuke Uchiha felt the sudden need to leave the village again, this time without any interior motive. Well, there was one. Being good was just _so damn boring_. The only thing he had to look forward to anymore was-

"Sasuke, Sasuke!" The last Uchiha's eyes snapped up as he heard footsteps approaching rapidly. He stared into the direction his name was being called from and watched as a blur of purple and yellow made its way towards him, collapsing on the bench when it reached its destination. The blur, who was now panting madly, revealed itself to be Ino Yamanaka. She looked up at Sasuke, her pale blue eyes burning holes into his own dark ones. He raised an amused eyebrow as she placed a hand to her chest, which was moving up and down rapidly. She continued to pant for a few moments more before sucking in a large amount of oxygen.

"Yes, Ino?" He tilted his head to the side, his lips turned up into a slight smirk. The blonde did not look like she was going to answer any time soon as she blew wisps of blonde bangs back into place. Sasuke, who was usually known for his impatience, could only stare at the blonde who was trying desperately to catch her breath. After a few more moments of trying—and failing—to put her loose strands of hair back in their place, she caught Sasuke's gaze. As soon as she did, she let out a small yelp and her cheeks grew pink, similarly to how Hinata would often do around Naruto. The blonde swallowed her wounded pride as she inwardly scowled herself for embarrassing herself in front of the Uchiha. Sasuke was still looking at her, and in an instant her facial expression shifted and she seemed to be back to her usual, bubbly self; as if the remembrance of her mission to find Sasuke had bought her back to her former glory.

"I suckered Neji into going on his first real date with Tenten!" Ino punched the air in front of her, excitedly. Sasuke stared at her for a few seconds and frowned slightly. _That was it? _He stood up and brushed himself off. "Where are you going?" Ino grabbed onto the back of his shirt and pulled him back towards her. Sasuke let out a deep sigh and turned around. Ino raised an eyebrow and blinked up at him.

"We're going to go on a double date with them." Ino almost choked on her own saliva at the statement he had just made. She glanced up at him, surprise written all over her face. Sasuke's face was twisted into a scowl. He crossed his arms and began to tap his foot on the ground. Ino sat with her mouth agape, opening and closing like a fish. After some time, she recomposed herself and coughed into her hand.

"That is _not_ how you ask a lady on a date." She was now the one with her arms crossed and her legs folded. Had it been as long as five years ago, Ino would have never spoken to Sasuke in such a way. But, as all things do, something changed in Ino between the time he left to the time he came back. She was always headstrong, but now she was even more so than usual. This girl had some guts, to actually _defy_ the Uchiha prodigy. Maybe, that's why he was so interested by her. Once her fanatic love for Sasuke subsided, he began to see that the blonde was quite similar to another blonde he was quite close to, Naruto Uzumaki. If it wasn't for Temari of the Sand, the Uchiha would have assumed that all blondes acted that way. Sasuke glared at her, and she glared right back.

"Okay," Sasuke started slowly. Ino nodded at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and dropped his hands to his sides. "Would you like to go with me on a double date with the Hyuuga and that panda girl?" Sasuke looked directly at her as he asked. The blonde squeaked as her cheeks tinted a light pink. She grinned and nodded widely. "Good. I suggest you go prepare then." Ino watched as the Uchiha walked away, the dark aura he usually had subsiding as he disappeared into the distance.

* * *

Hinata Hyuuga was crouched down, balancing on the balls of her foot. She examined the flower in front of her face with curiosity. She tilted her head to the side and continued to look at the flower. She sighed happily and picked up. She would have to ask Ino about this one later. With a smile, she began to walk towards the Hyuuga Compound. As she walked, she collided unexpectedly with a blur of orange clad.

"Hey, Hinata!" She jumped back at the sound of Naruto's voice. As if on instinct, her face lit up to a bright red and her gaze began darting this way and that, but never focusing on the boy in front of her. "Are you okay, Hinata-chan?" He put his hands on her shoulders, concerned. Hinata nodded vigoriously.

"H-hi, Naruto-kun," she regained her composure and the heat left her face, though a burst of light pink suffused over her cheeks. "I'm f-fine." Naruto grinned at this. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Didn't ya hear? Neji's taking Tenten on an actual, REAL LIFE DATE!" Naruto bellowed, happily. He released his grip on her shoulders as his blue eyes twinkled. "You better believe I'm proud of him!" Hinata smiled at Naruto's excitement and nodded. "Y'know what would be cool, Hina-chan?"

"Huh...w-what?" Hinata looked up at him as ivory met cyan. Naruto's grin grew even wider than it previously had been. She resisted the urge to twiddle with her fingers as she watched him. She waited for him to continue. After clearing his throat, he grinned again.

"We're gonna double date with Neji and Tenten!" His proclamation made Hinata yelp in surprise. She shouldn't have been though because Naruto is, and always will be, the ninja of surprises. Still, Hinata couldn't help her beet red blush from suffusing all over her pale face. "It'll be the best time of your life, believe it!"

* * *

Temari of The Sand was not in her element. No, not at all. No matter how much she came to the Hidden Leaf Village, she would _never_ be in her element. She hiked up her black kimono and made her way up the grassy hill. With a huff, she pulled herself up step by step. The slight breeze outside had picked up, making her lose her balance by only a bit. Now the wind, that was her element. And it seemed that her element was working against her at that moment. After a few more minutes of struggling, she made it up the hill. The sight of the pineapple-haired sleeping shinobi made her know that her struggles did not go unaccounted for.

"Shikamaru!" She called to him. Of course, he did not make stir. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she dropped her hold on her kimono and made her way over to him. "Get up you lazy bastard!" She demanded, angrily. She must have forgotten who it was she was yelling at, because he did not move. She leaned over him and watched as one of his eyes snapped open. She crossed her arms and began tapping her foot angrily on the grassy plain. Shikamaru blinked at her.

"Oi, woman, you're blocking my view of the clouds," he stated. This was probably not a smart move because before he had time to process anything, his head met with Temari of The Sand's gigantic fan. He rubbed his head and sat up, glaring at her. "Troublesome woman," he grumbled. Temari's eyes flared with anger and he quickly avoided the second blow she tried to land on him. "Why are you here?" Temari's face seemed to flush at the question. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You've heard about how Neji and Tenten are going on a date, right?" She wondered. He nodded, edging for her to continue. "It was Ino's fault. She's crazy." Temari's nervous chuckle caused Shikamaru to narrow his eyes in confusion. "Anyway, I think…we should go. You know, I want to cheer Tenten on. I'd look like an idiot if I went alone and my brothers aren't here so…I wouldn't even bother you, while we're there. I promise. I'll be watching Tenten. I won't be my usual troublesome self." Shikamaru looked at her skeptically, but nodded anyway.

"Alright. Fine."

* * *

Tenten was sitting on the floor of her bedroom with piles of clothes around her. She had a huge frown gracing her normally happy features and she had her arms crossed, frustrated. She cursed Ino, Sakura, Temari and Hinata for conveniently also going on dates tonight, because she had no one to help her pick out what to wear and she had to meet Neji in thirty minutes_._ She crawled over to her closet and looked through the last of her clothing. She let out a gasp when she saw a knee-high red cheongsam* hanging in the back of her closet. She sat up and looked at the dress, smiling. She hugged it to herself. After a few moments, she ran to the bathroom and quickly slipped it on. She twirled around and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Perfect." She snapped her fingers together. She began to look through her cabinet for makeup. She sighed when she discovered a tube of red lip gloss in the corner next to a bottle of Aspirin. She glared at it but opened it anyway. She shrugged and applied it to her lips. "Now, shoes." She went back to her room and scoped around her closet for footwear. The only good enough shoes she found were a pair of red flats. She smiled at them and slipped them on. She looked at the clock hanging at the top of the room. _Five minutes._ She ran back into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She squinted at her reflection and frowned. _Bye-bye buns._ She pulled her hair out of its customary style just in time to hear a sharp knock. Neji was _always _early. She straightened out her dress and walked to the door. "Neji!" She engulfed her boyfriend into a hug and acted as though she was surprised to see him.

"Tenten…" Neji coughed into his hand. "You look…very nice." He smiled softly at her. Tenten grinned and looked at him. He wasn't wearing his usual outfit, but instead a more formal version of the Hyuuga robes. She grabbed his arm lightly and closed the door behind her. Neji looked at her expectantly. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're picking the place…remember?"

"Ah, right." Tenten laughed and scratched the back of her head. "I forgot, sorry." Neji watched as she tapped her finger with her chin. "Oi, I know! We can go to the Barbeque!" She grinned and looked at the Hyuuga prodigy. Neji nodded and they began walking through the streets of Konoha. Knowing how much Neji disliked small talk, the two walked in a comfortable silence until Neji stopped abruptly. "Eh? What is it?"

"Don't you feel like…we're being followed?" Neji put his back to her and looked around. He resisted the urge to activate his Byakugan. Tenten raised an eyebrow and peaked her head out from behind him, also scanning the area. After a few minutes she shook her head and laughed lightly.

"You're silly, Neji. There's no one following us! C'mon!" She had a hold on his forearm again and was dragging him. Neji sighed and followed her to Yakiniku**. Since the night wasn't busy they didn't have to make reservations and were escorted to a table.

"Unfortunately, all the two people tables are taken but we hope the large one won't be a problem for you." The waiter looked at the couple. Tenten nodded and grinned. "Alright, I'll be back when you're ready to order drinks." Tenten watched the waiter walk off and was about to open her mouth when—

"Neji, Tenten, you guys are here!" She turned around and could barely process what was happening when Naruto slipped in next to her and Hinata sat down across from her and next to Neji. "What a strange coincidence!" Naruto ignored the glares he was receiving from Neji as he wrapped an arm around Tenten's shoulders. Tenten tensed up and faked a smile at the blonde. Neji was the one who was about to say something when they heard footsteps from the other direction. Neji, Naruto, Hinata and Tenten all turned to see Temari with her arm linked in Shikamaru's. She smirked mischievously at Tenten.

"What a _strange_ coincidence," she cooed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and slid in the booth next to Neji, but didn't get too close as he felt the dark aura coming from him. Temari placed her hand on her chin and looked at Tenten. "Naruto, what are _you _doing here?" She asked when she finally noticed the blonde. Naruto pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Hinata and I are on a double date with Neji and Tenten! What are YOU doing here?" He bellowed, earning him looks from the people in the restaurant. "Oh, and, how's Gaara!" Temari opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a scream that was as loud as Naruto's.

"Neji, Tenten h—wait, Temari? Hinata? Naruto? What the hell are YOU guys doing here?" Tenten smacked her forehead when she recognized the shrill voice. To confirm her thoughts she turned to the side, where Ino and Sasuke were standing. She let out a long, agitated sigh as Ino sat next to Hinata and Sasuke sat on the other side of Naruto. "Were you guys even invited or are you just barraging in on the two lovebirds' date?"

"None of you were invited, including you, Yamanaka." Neji pointed out. Ino chuckled and waved her hand at him. Neji seriously considered Gentle Fist'ing every single one of them. Tenten caught his glare and smiled apologetically at him. Neji softened at her expression and took a deep breath. _The night will be over soon._

"Whoa, whoa, hey guys! Who would have thought that we'd ALL show up here at the same time, on the same night?" They all turned to the voice of the intruder and saw Sakura and Sai standing awkwardly close to each other. Sakura was waving happily and Sai was…well, no one could really tell if he was bored or if that was just his usual expression. Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes as Sakura slipped in next to Temari and Sai sat next to Shikamaru. He gave the pineapple haired nin a playful punch on the arm.

"This is what they call a strange coincidence, yes?" He flashed the my-pace chunin a warming smile. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned away from the pasty former ROOT member. Tenten sighed again and looked up at Neji, who looked ready to kill. Tenten sucked in a breath as Naruto yelled in one of her ears and Temari yapped away in the other. The waiter came and got them all their drinks, not the least bit surprised at the addition of the eight people that now occupied the four-person booth. Tenten scratched her nose and Neji massaged his temple. He tried to ignore the stuttering Hinata to his right and the snoring Shikamaru to his left. All hopes of the night ending quickly were thrown out the window when the two female blondes, Ino and Temari, began to argue about Shikamaru's favorite food. The subject of the _heated discussion_, as Temari would claim it to be if you ever asked about it, was fast asleep. Sai had his usual fake grin on his face as his gaze shifted between the two blondes. Temari, finally having snapped, reached over the table. In the process of trying to grab at Ino, she knocked Tenten's water all over her.

"Temari!" Tenten stood up abruptly. Her loud scream of the sunan's name caused Shikamaru to jump awake. "T_-_this was my _mother's_ dress!" She hissed. Temari's eyes widened and she frowned. She bowed her head, ashamed. Ino began to snicker, but stopped when Tenten shot her an icy glare. "What is wrong with you two!"

"Tenten, calm down! Temari didn't mean it, you know it!" Naruto interjected. Tenten turned to him and shot him a glare. Sai was watching this unfold with the emotion he believed they called amusement and Naruto casted Hinata a 'help-me' look. The Hyuuga female looked down at her fingers, as if she didn't see the blonde. Sasuke began to chuckle at Naruto's peril. With a sigh, Tenten sat down again. Naruto grinned triumphantly. "That a girl!"

"You're _all_ idiots," Neji hissed. Sasuke shot him a glare, Temari looked like she was wishing for her tessen, Naruto looked ready to protest, Hinata made a yelping sound, Ino shook her fist violently, Sakura frowned slightly, Shikamaru was still asleep, and Sai looked utterly…surprised?

"Neji-kun that is _no_ way to talk to your friends. I read in one of my books that you should always respect your-"

"None of you are my friends," Neji interrupted with a hiss. He was literally _seconds_ away from knocking them all into last week when the waiter conveniently made his way back over to the table. The ten shinobi all looked at him as he cleared his throat.

"Are you ready to order your entrees?" He asked, mustering up the politest voice possible. He nodded and wrote as they ordered one-by-one. He glared at Naruto, who had ordered a bowl of Ramen. "That isn't on the menu." He wrote the name of Naruto's new order and walked back into the kitchen. They all watched his fleeting figure disappear and then turned back to each other.

"Sooooo," Ino broke the awkward silence that filled the room. "How about those Mets?" She chuckled nervously. This earned her a glare from the Hyuuga prodigy.

"What the hell are Mets?" Sasuke seemed interested in the conversation for the first time that night. No one said anything for a while. Ino cleared her throat and strained a smile at him.

"My, uh, dad was watching the American Broadcasting Channel and they mentioned a baseball team called the Mets," Ino explained. Sasuke nodded and began stirring his water with his chewed straw. Ino watched him and coughed into her hand. Tenten let out a loud sigh and Shikamaru was asleep again. Temari was tapping her fingers on the table impatiently and Neji was trying his best to ignore everyone except Tenten. Naruto kept sipping his drink and burping. Hinata continued to twiddle with her fingers, Sai was reading a book entitled '_Awkward Moments: For Dummies'_ and Sakura was tracing shapes onto the table with her fingers. After a while, multiple waiters came and placed their individual orders onto the table. They ate in silence for a while, until the usually silent last Uchiha decided to voice his opinions.

"There are nine of you here, yet I'm still bored to death," he announced. His statement floated into the air and lingered there. Neji shot him an angry glare, which he ignored. Sai just looked at him with his usually impassive expression and resumed eating. Ino nodded in agreement. Naruto rolled his eyes at the Uchiha. Hinata swallowed whatever was in her mouth and kept her eyes on her plate. Sakura didn't say anything, as she was engaging in a quiet conversation with Temari. Shikamaru was still sleeping and Tenten was trying not to stab them all with their own knives.

"I have a suggestion, you can always leave," Neji responded coldly. Sasuke gave him the signature Uchiha glare, which he ignored with ease. "Take these idiots with you when you do." Despite what he had said, it was not a suggestion. It was definitely a command. Sasuke looked ready to strike at the other prodigy, but didn't move as he felt the icy glare Tenten was sending his way.

"Check, please." The brunette called suddenly. Their waiter stalked over and placed the check on the table. They all leaned over to look at it. At the sight of the amount, everyone was gone except for Tenten and Neji. Neji sighed and pulled out a few bills. He frowned slightly and looked up at Tenten.

"Well, that certainly didn't turn out the way I had planned," he stated after some time. He studied Tenten's face, which showed no emotion at all. "I'm sorry," he said after a while. Tenten looked at him for a few seconds and smiled.

"It wasn't all that bad, I had a good time."

"…really?"

"Yeah," Tenten nodded, vigorously. "Even though our date and my dress was pretty messed up, I liked it. No matter what we do, I'm always glad because I'm doing it with you!" Her smile widened into a grin. "I really enjoy your company!"

"Hm…Tenten?" Neji placed his hand under his chin and watched his girlfriend. The brunette nodded for him to continue. "Next time we go on a date, let's keep it a secret from that Yamanaka." Tenten nodded in agreement. Before she could respond, Neji leaned over and planted a small kiss on her lips.

Maybe this time, the pair would thank their pals instead of beating them up.

* * *

_**a/n**: Agggggggggggggh! Hope you enjoyed! Sai&Sakura and Sasuke&Ino's were my favorite of the side-dates parts ahahah. Don't ask me why the chapter started with Ino..._

_*cheongsam- Chinese dress created during the Han dynasty._

_**Yakiniku-Barbeque restaurant next to Ichiraku Ramen. Choji's favorite restaurant._


End file.
